Socket FM2 processors - Athlon X2 dual cores vs Athlon X4 quad cores

[Shinethelight]

I'm building a new PC and decided on the FM2 socket after doing some research. This was mostly due to the hard to beat bang for the buck of the Athlon X4 740 which you can get for around 75 bucks right now. I'm a gamer that has graphics cards so built in APU graphics are pointless to me. Some may ask why I went FM2 at all in that case but again I think many will agree the Athlon X4's are hard to beat for the price. Then you also have to factor in the Richland's that were released. I've seen some say Socket FM2 is no good and pointless at this point but really I disagree when you factor in the price/performance of some of the CPU's they released.

Why does the Athlon X2 370k 4.0/4.2 dual core ($60) go for almost the same price as the Athlon X4 Trinity's ($75)? Neither one of them have built in graphics. For a gamer would I be better off going with the faster dual core instead? I'm leaning towards the Athlon X4 but want to make sure I'm not missing something here. From what I have read the Athlon X2 370k has about the same performance as my old old Socket Am2 Athlon 64 Windsor 6400+. I don't get it.

 

[logainofhades]

You will want the quad core one if you go with FM2. I would advise against FM2, as it is slower, clock for clock than a phenom II X4. The FM2's lack L3 cache and that hurts their gaming performance. It should be faster than your old K8 though. Also, there is no real upgrade path for FM2 even if you get an FM2+ board, as Kaveri was a big letdown.